History Main / ParachuteInATree

[[caption-width-right:250:Ste.-Mere-Eglise, Normandy, 1944.]]

* A coffee shop commercial includes an unlucky woman's parachute becoming entangled in the only tree in a large field.

* In Episode 8 of ''Anime/IzettaTheLastWitch'', Germanian Officer Rickert tries going into a foreign country at night to meet up with a spy. Unfortunately for him the wind blew him off course and he ended up crashing into a tree.

* ''ComicBook/BuckDanny'': This happens a few times.

[[folder:Film -- Animated]]

* ''WesternAnimation/ParaNorman:'' One of the ghosts Norman sees on the way to school is in the situation.
-->'''Norman:''' Hey! How's it hangin'?
-->'''Ghost:''' Oh, ha ha. NeverHeardThatOneBefore.

[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]
* Blair Williams from ''Film/TerminatorSalvation'' is introduced dangling from a derelict pylon by her parachute. She tries to cut herself free, despite the large drop, but Marcus Wright grabs her before she can fall from her harness.
* In ''Film/TheCrazies2010'' they find the long-dead skeletal remains of a pilot who had this problem after ejecting.
* ''Film/TheLongestDay'' includes a scene where a paratrooper becomes snagged on a French church spire. This incident is based on one from the real world.
** Also when another US paratrooper gets stuck in an ''actual'' tree and, unable to free himself in time, ends up getting separated from the rest of his unit.
* In the prologue of ''Film/JurassicParkIII'', Ben and Eric are parasailing[[note]]a parasail looks like a rectangular parachute, but the canopy is wider and gives more lift, allowing it to be steered better and stay aloft longer[[/note]] near Isla Sorna when they lose their towboat and have to land on the island. Later when the main group arrives on the island, they find the parasail dangling from a tree with Ben's half-eaten body still attached to it. The parasail is more or less intact, so Billy packs it up and [[ChekhovsGun takes it with him]]. Billy later uses it to rescue Eric from a flock of ''Pteranodons,'' and gets caught on a cliffside for his trouble. He manages to cut himself down and fall into the river, but can't make it to shore before being [[spoiler:[[DisneyDeath nearly]]]] eaten.
* ''Film/JurassicWorldDominion''. Claire Dearing gets stuck up a tree in her EjectionSeat, which is a good thing seeing as there are carnivorous dinosaurs roaming below...until a huge Therizinosaurus appears [[OhCrap whose head is right at the height she is now]].
* Played very straight in the UsefulNotes/WorldWar2 film ''Flying Leathernecks'': an American pilot has to bail out of his fighter over Guadalcanal because he ran out of fuel. His parachute snags in a tree just as a Japanese patrol is passing by on the ground below, and they promptly shoot him dead.
* In ''Film/ForceTenFromNavarone'', this happens to Corporal Miller during a parachute drop over Yugoslavia. A German soldier nearly shoots him before he is saved by Sergeant Weaver.
* This is how the other characters encounter Edwin, the doctor, in ''Film/{{Predators}}''.
* This happens to an unlucky 00 agent in the opening sequence of ''Film/TheLivingDaylights''.

* In ''Film/ThatManFromRio'', the hero has to ditch a plane over the Amazon jungle and parachutes down -- getting stuck in a tree and dangling just above a hungry crocodile in the swamp.

* An unlucky wind change in ''Film/GeorgeOfTheJungle'' resulted in a skydiver getting his parachute entangled in the San Francisco Bay Bridge. Lucky for him, George was there to swing to the rescue.
* On his first parachute jump into German-occupied Norway, Film/MaxManus ends up hanging upside down from a tree. Fortunately his friend Gregers lands nearby and helps him down.

* ''Film/Firestorm1998'': When Jesse jumps out of Andy's chopper to rescue Jennifer and the (fake) firefighters, his chute gets caught up between two trees. He has to cut it loose in order to drop to the ground.
* In ''Film/ABCsOfDeath2'', the Israeli soldier starts the segment "F [[spoiler:is for Falling]]" hanging from a tree by her parachute.

* The 'monster' in ''Literature/LordOfTheFlies'' is actually a dead parachuter hanging from the trees.

* The ''Series/DadsArmy'' episode "Time On My Hands" centres on the characters' efforts to pull down a German pilot whose parachute is caught on the town clock.
* In ''Series/TheATeam'' episode "[[Recap/TheATeamS1E11OneMoreTime One More Time]]," Amy's parachute is caught in a tree, leaving her dangling in her harness.
* In one episode of ''Series/TheYoungOnes'', after moving into a new house, Mike discovers Music/BuddyHolly, still alive and guitar in hand, hanging from a parachute in one of the rooms. He has apparently been there since 1959 (23 yeas at that point). Mike tries to capitalise on the songs Buddy has thought up since then only for the parachute to give way and Holly fall screaming through the floor.
* ''Series/FullHouse'': When Jesse goes skydiving, his parachute gets stuck in a tree, causing him to be late to his own wedding.

* In an episode of ''Series/FatherTed'', during a flight emergency, Jack takes the plane's two parachutes and attaches the second one to [[TheAlcoholic the drinks trolley]]. As the credits roll, we see Jack and the trolley both stuck in the tree, with Jack vainly trying to reach it.
* In ''Series/BandOfBrothers'' the men of Easy Company find a dead paratrooper caught in a tree.

* ''Series/GeneralHospital'': Lois jumps out of a moving plane and ends up in such a situation. Fortunately, she had a cellular.
** Bonus points for making a "hanging around" reference and whistling away waiting to be unhooked.
* ''Series/CSIMiami'': In "Terminal Velocity", a skydiver is killed when his [[ChuteSabotage parachute is tampered with]]. His diving partner ends up dangling from a tree after he tries to save him. Horatio and Tripp interview him while he is still hanging from the tree.
* The central point of an immunity challenge in ''Characters/SurvivorBorneo.''
* Happens once in ''{{Series/Emergency}}'', and she didn't want the firemen to damage it getting her out. Someone pops her reserve chute, and she complains about the repacking fee.

** Naomi is introduced this way after her helicopter got into trouble flying over the island through a storm forcing her to jump out. Her parachute got caught on a tree and she was injured by one of the branches, requiring a rescue from some of the main cast.

* ''Series/{{Thunderbirds}}'': In "Brink of Disaster", Grafton is trying to persuade Jeff to invest in his completely automatic monorail, which is patrolled by heli-jets. One of these is struck by lightning, causing it to crash into the railway. The pilot of this jet ends up dangling from the railway by his parachute. When somebody turns up to rescue him, he tells his rescuer to contact the train first, because the automatic signals have been damaged. Without these, the train cannot stop, and is heading towards the damaged track.

* Music/BrianEno's song 'Mother Whale Eyeless' includes the line "Parachutes caught on steeples."

* This happens to one of the first-dropped troopers accompanying you in the first ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty''. He's shot and killed by Germans before you actually reach him.
* There's a FunnyBackgroundEvent in ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare 2'' involving this trope. During the mission "Wolverines!", you and your buddies come across a Russian paratrooper that has befallen this fate on a streetlight.

* Corpses of paratroopers hanging from trees are frequently found in the "Swamp Fever" campaign of ''VideoGame/Left4Dead2''. Upgraded weapons, medical supplies and grenades can be found on their bodies.
* In the old Atari 2600 ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' game, the well of souls was found behind a cave under a cliff-side tree branch. Getting into the cave involved snagging your parachute on the branch (which would cause you to slide in).
* ''VideoGame/Fallout3'': Early on in the Operation: Anchorage DLC, you see a snagged paratrooper get gunned down by Chinese troops. In ''Point Lookout'', you find a parachute in a tree above the skeleton of the pilot, adjacent to his [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-5hd5DSNsU crashed plane]] that contains an ApocalypticLog in the black box.
* At the beginning ''VideoGame/AloneInTheDarkTheNewNightmare'', Carnby gets snagged in a tree while landing on Shadow Island.
* Happens to Larry in ''VideoGame/LeisureSuitLarry2LookingForLoveInSeveralWrongPlaces'', when parachuting down to Nontoonyt Island. Your only way out is if you thought to bring along a knife. If you didn't, the game becomes {{Unwinnable}} as you're stuck hanging there.
* This is how the Lost Pilot Zombies in ''VideoGame/{{Plants Vs Zombies 2|ItsAboutTime}}'' attack your lawn. They drop down hanging from a parachute caught onto a tree, and start eating the plant on that space before they're eventually "freed". Using a Blover when they're hanging causes them to free themselves immediately, instead of instantly killing them unlike most {{Airborne Mook}}s.
* ''VideoGame/GameAndWatch'': ''Parachute'''s Game B has the right string of skydivers possibly meeting this fate.

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* The webcomic [[http://just-chute-me.com/ Just 'Chute Me]] is based on this trope, featuring two guys hanging from parachutes on a desert island.
* Narrowly averted in [[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2010-10-18 this]] ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'' strip. Carol the reporter's camera man lands on a roof near her but only because he had to choose between that or the trees.

* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'': NonActionGuy Dr. Canus ends up dangling from a tree when he bails out of the Batplane in "Last Bat on Earth!".
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'': In ''The Old and the Restless'', Pop-Pop ends up in a tree after a parachute jump. Lincoln helps him down.

* During D-Day, a paratrooper named John Steele became snagged on the church spire at Ste.-Mère-Eglise and played dead for two hours before being cut down and taken prisoner by the Germans. This was depicted in the movie ''Film/TheLongestDay'' as listed above. The church still has a monument to him and the other paratroopers, in the form of a statue of a paratrooper dangling from the spire, as well as stained glass windows depicting Virgin Mary and the paratroopers.[[note]][[AGoodNameForARockBand Which also sounds like a great name for a band.]][[/note]]

* During the "Malayan Emergency" campaign in TheFifties Special Air Service actually practiced "tree jumping" ''deliberately'' -- which was often inevitable, as four fifths of the [[UsefulNotes/{{Malaysia}} Malay Peninsula]] is covered by jungle and helicopters of the era were limited in numbers and carrying capacity. Each trooper was issued with an extra length of rope to climb down the tree after his landing. Injuries still happened quite often and with increased number of helicopters tree jumping was gradually discontinued.

[[folder: Anime and Manga]]

[[folder:Film -- Live Action]]

* In ''Film/ThatManFromRio'', the hero has to ditch a plane over the Amazon jungle and parachutes down - getting stuck in a tree and dangling just above a hungry crocodile in the swamp.

* ''Literature/WorldWarZ'': One of [[spoiler: Colonel Christina Eliopolis's]] crew mates after the crash. Found, being eaten.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

* In an episode of ''Series/FoylesWar'', a German WWII flier who is found hanging in a tree from his parachute after a plane crash is involved in a murder taking place at the same time. Played with in the sense that [[spoiler: the soldier did not in fact land with the parachute. He was transported in by a submarine and then hung himself up in the tree to make it look like he had been in the plane.]]
* In an episode of ''Series/FatherTed'', during a flight emergency, Jack takes the plane's two parachutes and attaches the second one to the drinks trolley. As the credits roll, we see Jack and the trolley both stuck in the tree, with Jack vainly trying to reach it.

* During the "Malayan Emergency" campaign in TheFifties Special Air Service actually practiced "tree jumping" ''deliberately'' - which was often inevitable, as four fifths of the [[UsefulNotes/{{Malaysia}} Malay Peninsula]] is covered by jungle and helicopters of the era were limited in numbers and carrying capacity. Each trooper was issued with an extra length of rope to climb down the tree after his landing. Injuries still happened quite often and with increased number of helicopters tree jumping was gradually discontinued.

* Happens a few times in ''ComicBook/BuckDanny''.
* And in the ''ComicBook/{{Commando}}'' comics, usually involving an evil German soldier who finds our hero in such a helpless state and is about to shoot him, until a third party pulls a BigDamnHeroes.

* ''WebAnimation/HappyTreeFriends'': In "Wingin' It", when Mime falls out of a plane, the skin on his face comes lose and functions as a parachute. He gets caught up in a tree and has the cut off his skin to get free.

* ''Series/{{Thunderbirds}}'': In "Brink of Disaster", Grafton is trying to persuade Jeff to invest in his completely automatic monorail, which is patrolled by heli-jets. One of these is struck by lightning, causing it to crash into the railway. The pilot of this jet ends up dangling from the railway by his parachute. When somebody turns up to rescue him, he tells his rescuer to contact the train first, because the automatic signals have been damaged. Without these, the train cannot stop, and is heading towards the damaged track.

** ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonorAlliedAssault'''s ''Spearhead'' Expansionpack has Parachute In A House, as Barnes ends up breaking through the roof of a barn and gets trapped several feet over the floor, all the while German troops are patrolling the area outside the barn.

** ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonorAlliedAssault'''s Addon ''Spearhead'' has Parachute In A House, as the player once breaks through the roof of a barn and gets trapped several feet over the floor.

* Many experienced skydivers (1000+ jumps) have very likely landed on trees multiple times during their skydiving careers.

* Averted by: [[UsefulNotes/NazisWithGnarlyWeapons the Fallschirmjäger]], who were theoretically at risk of this, since (unlike American and British forces) their parachutes [[ArmoredCoffins weren't steerable]] ...but the Fallschirmjäger were largely used as regular infantry, or deployed by glider. The main campaigns in which they were airdropped were essentially treeless environments (Netherlands, Crete), and they could be dropped from extremely low altitudes (the upside of their choice of parachute is that it would fully deploy in under 40 meters), so it would seem unlikely for one to land in a tree.

* Should your parachute fail, landing in a tree (or at least, ''crashing through one'') is actually one of the best places to land when you don't have anything that can fully slow you down, as the crown of the tree will break your fall.

* In ''Film/JurassicParkIII'', a character gets caught in a tree and is later found half-eaten and still dangling from the canopy. His parachute [[note]]actually a para-wing -- the difference is subtle, but a para-wing is more steerable and can stay aloft for much longer[[/note]] is intact, so the party packs it back up and [[ChekhovsGun takes it with them]]. Billy later uses it to rescue Eric from a flock of ''Pteranodons,'' and gets caught on a cliffside for his trouble. He manages to cut himself down and fall into the river, but can't make it to shore before being [[spoiler:[[DisneyDeath nearly]]]] eaten.
* In ''Film/ForceTenFromNavarone'', this happens to Corporal Miller during a parachute drop over Yugoslavia. A german soldier nearly shoots him before he is saved by Sergeant Weaver.

* In ''Film/JurassicParkIII'', a character gets caught in a tree and is later found half-eaten and still dangling from the canopy. His parachute is intact, so the party packs it back up and [[ChekhovsGun takes it with them]]. Billy later uses it to rescue Eric from a flock of ''Pteranodons,'' and gets caught on a cliffside for his trouble. He manages to cut himself down and fall into the river, but can't make it to shore before being [[spoiler:[[DisneyDeath nearly]]]] eaten.

* The 'monster' in ''Literature/LordOfTheFlies'' is actually a dead parachuter.

* Seen in this spot for [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5dJdpS3QIc Yardley Black Label aftershave]], featuring [[Music/TheMonkees Monkees]] Mike Nesmith and the late Davy Jones[[note]]Yardley was one main sponsor of the show along with Kellogg's[[/note]] as two parachuters. This product is what gets the less-fortunate Davy the kiss.

* A few of the ''Webcomic/CampWeedonwantcha'' campers stumble across a skeleton stuck like this [[http://campcomic.com/comic/62 here]]. [[CreepyChild They decide to play with the parachute]].

* ''Series/{{LOST}}'': Naomi is introduced this way after her helicopter got into trouble flying over the island through a storm forcing her to jump out. He parachute got caught on a tree and she was injured by one of the branches, requiring a rescue from some of the main cast.

* ''UsefulNotes/GameAndWatch'': ''Parachute'''s Game B has the right string of skydivers possibly meeting this fate.

* Seen in this spot for [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5dJdpS3QIc Yardley Black Label aftershave]], featuring [[Music/TheMonkees Monkees]] Mike Nesmith and the late Davy Jones[[note]]Yardley was one main sponsor of the show along with Kellogg's[[/note]] as two parachuters. This product is what get the less-fortunate Davy the kiss.

* ''Series/GeneralHospital'': Happened to Lois. Fortunately, she had a cellular.
** Bonus points for whistling away waiting to be unhooked.

This trope is very much TruthInTelevision both in military parachuting and recreational skydiving, and surviving such a situation is a mandatory part of training. Pilots are equipped with hooked knives for slicing through their parachute cords; if this becomes a problem and some military parachutes have releasable extended lines so that you can reach the ground if you are too high up to get down or risk a fall. In recreational skydiving it is usually better to hang on the harness and wait for help rather than to try to get yourself loose (and risk falling uncontrolled on the ground).

This trope is very much TruthInTelevision both in military parachuting and recreational skydiving, and surviving such a situation is a mandatory part of training. Pilots are equipped with hooked knives for slicing through their parachute cords if this becomes a problem and some military parachutes have releasable extended lines so that you can reach the ground if you are too high up to get down or risk a fall. In recreational skydiving it is usually better to hang on the harness and wait for help rather than to try to get yourself loose (and risk falling uncontrolled on the ground).